Cracks in the Mask

by TMoe1997

A collection of stories I wrote for FizzarOzzie Week that have an interwoven narrative connecting them. They follow Fizzarolli from when he first entered Ozzie's doors to his current relationship with Asmodeus. There's humor, angst, comfort, and a reveal that may change their relationship forever.

4. Consequences of our Actions

-The Next Day-

Fizzarolli exited Ozzie's through the back entrance, following a brief goodbye from Asmodeus. Another day of performing had been done and now it was time for him to return home. Despite their current relationship, and how much Asmodeus offered, he didn't live with the Goetia. He wanted to have his own place, feeling like he would be intruding if he accepted his offer of residency. It definitely wasn't as lavish as the palace where he could have lived, but it was his own and Asmodeus made sure it was safe for him. Fizz figured it was because of how popular he was now; the last thing he wanted was his star getting kidnapped by some crazed fan who had a shrine dedicated to him in their home.

It was also for this reason why he was leaving through the back. He had changed out of his usual outfit into unassuming plain clothes, a pair of long jeans and a dress shirt that covered his robotic attachments. He also wiped all the make-up off his face and wore a hooded green poncho for added measure. It was good for disguising himself as well as dealing with the near-constant rain of Lust. Now as he left the alley running behind Ozzie's he was able to blend into the crowd without anyone looking twice at him. Or so he thought.

It wasn't a long walk between Ozzie's and his apartment, at least twenty blocks away, but with the rain pouring as hard as it was he decided to walk through a nearby alley. This helped give him some cover from the rain and quicken the time it would take for him to return home.

Thankfully it was empty, save for some dumpsters lined up against the backs of several different businesses, as well as trash haphazardly scattered on the ground that missed said dumpsters. Although he wouldn't feel them, he did his best to avoid walking on them. He didn't want to track anything nasty like the used contraceptives or booze spilling out of broken glass that lay here into his apartment. But as he walked, he thought he could hear something behind him. Soft footfalls that were easily differentiated from his own. This was confirmed when he heard a loud crunch as something smashed the glass laying on the ground.

He stopped in his tracks and slowly turned his head, just enough so he could peek behind him. That's when he saw two imps, a man and woman, hunched over and looking at him, standing in place. Fizz judged by the way they stood that they weren't coming down the same way by coincidence. His heart began to race as he realized they were tailing him. For what reason he didn't know, he just knew he had to get out of this alley and fast.

They eyed each other wordlessly for a few seconds, nobody was making a move. Then Fizz's head snapped forward and he started sprinting, trying to reach the end of this long hallway of buildings. Immediately, he heard the two demons behind him start giving chase. Fortunately they weren't very fast, either that or the prosthetics were giving him a boost of speed he never tested before. The alley was long but he was closing the distance between him and the main road ahead. He could barely hear his pursuers as he got further and further away from them. Just as he was merely a few feet from escaping this dark passage, a large arm cut out of an intersecting alley and he slammed into it hard, his legs kicking up into the air as he fell onto his back.

The wind was completely knocked out of him, and as he sucked in a large breath that same arm reached down and grabbed him, before throwing him back deeper into the alley towards the two imps chasing him. He tumbled over himself for a bit, his hood came off his head, then stopped on his chest, laying in the scattered trash and filthy rainwater.

"Thanks pops, guess it's good you cut ahead huh?"

The voice came from one of the imps that was chasing him, the male one. Not wanting to be caught between them, he growled and quickly got back on his feet. As he scanned side-to-side to get his bearings, that same imp came at him on his left, swinging a wild left hook. Fizz easily dodged it, and sent a powerful knee into the imp's chest. He followed it up by kicking him with the same leg, pushing him back. He managed to remain upright, but he was now clutching his chest and coughing hard.

Fizz put his hands up, ready for another assault, but it didn't come. The large one they called "Pops" simply stayed on his right, silently blocking the way through with his entire body. While the nameless imps on his left stayed together and blocked escape on that side. From this distance he could see the male imp was skinny as a rail, similar in stature to the female imp standing beside him. Their horns were matching in length and curled in on themselves the same way. The two also wore matching black spandex outfits, as if they just got out of a late-night jazzercise class. It became obvious to Fizz that they were twins. The female imp laughed a little and confirmed this.

"He's still got some fight in him bro, you should've seen that coming honestly."

The male imp glared at her briefly, but just as quickly conceded and replied, "Yeah, he does. That's my fault, I shouldn't have taken him by myself. We agreed to do this together after all."

"Well look at that, humility. Y'know if that was all it took to teach you that I would've kicked you around years ago," Pops spoke up, his voice was baritone and had a slight accent. The male imp simply nodded and waved him off, saying nothing in return.

Fizz looked between them cautiously, standing on alert. He glanced up to see if he could extend to the roof and escape that way. No such luck, the buildings were far too tall, with no noticeable handholds on the way up. He also didn't know if they were armed, if he tried escaping there was a chance they could shoot him. He had no idea who these people were, but they had him surrounded. Although, as he looked at the larger imp Pops, he thought he recognized him.

He stood at least seven feet tall, with large rippling muscles that threatened to break the white tank-top he was wearing. He also had on plain blue jeans similar to his, and black, fingerless, gloves on hands that were tucked into his body. A large, black, bushy beard covered most of his face and extended down a few inches below his face; it was the only hair present on his head. And his horns were unlike the others, as they were short and spiked straight up. The more Fizz looked at him the more he felt like he knew him. But he still couldn't find a connection, and he looked away to address the imp that tried to hit him.

"Alright, who the fuck are you people? Seriously, do you want money or something? Because I left all of mine in my other pants."

The twins looked at each other, and slowly broke into a laugh, starting as a soft chuckle that turned into an ear-aching cackle. Pops joined along with them as Fizz heard a lower snicker emanate from him. After a few seconds, the male imp stopped and answered him.

"Ah Fizz, you're still as funny as ever. Glad to see you haven't changed much in a year."

Fizz's face scrunched in confusion. He wasn't wearing his usual getup, but they could recognize him? It wasn't like he was the only imp with prosthetics either, and that last thing he said.

Glad to see you haven't changed much in a year.

This wasn't just a random mugging, but he still couldn't piece together who they were. The female imp saw the ignorance plain on his face, and she commented on it.

"I don't think he remembers us, what a shame. Here, let's give him a reminder."

She reached into her spandex outfit and pulled out a tattered piece of cloth. She raised it up between her fingers, then threw it on the ground at Fizz's feet. She gestured for him to look at it. Hesitantly, he looked between it and her a couple times. She merely nodded her head, demanding once more he look at it. He eventually did so, believing they wouldn't use this opportunity to attack him. When he did, he felt his heart drop.

Although it was extremely tarnished, a burnt black thing that was barely recognizable, there was a piece he immediately recognized. A corner of the cloth that was still intact. It was purple in color, with an 'A' in the corner. The handkerchief Asmodeus gave him last night, before they burnt down an entire circus in a moment of drunken mischief. He slowly turned his head up to face the three imps that surrounded him, and the shock on his face was plain to see.

"I think that did the trick sis. It seems Fizzy finally remembers his old pals."

He did, as much as he didn't want to, he did. "Pops" was Boris, the strongman at Avarice Acrobats and Co., famed for being able to lift 400 pounds with a single hand. He was the father of the other two imps. The male imp, Blaze, was a skilled sword juggler and swallower. His most notable act was one where he juggled three flaming swords into his open mouth, it was what gave him his name. And lastly, his sister Byrd, a contortionist whose flexibility rivaled Fizz's, and she used those skills in her acrobatics routine, twisting herself into impossible shapes as she flew through the air. They made up the biggest acts at the circus he used to work in, and if they knew he was the one who committed the arson, he was in deep shit. To put it lightly.

He tried to play it off, however. Shaking the shocked look off his face he gestured to the burnt cloth and said, "What the fuck is this supposed to be? You know there are plenty of places here to throw away your trash, it's a bad habit to litter."

Boris was the one to speak up this time, "Enough jokes Fizz, or I'll crush your head between my hands."

The threat worked in silencing Fizz. He had been around Boris long enough to know that he was always serious, and never appreciative of his humor. Byrd was next to speak.

"You should probably listen Fizzy, it'd be a shame if you died. Well, before we could get some licks in, that is. Besides, we got some things we'd like to say."

Blaze nodded his head, "Yeah, see, ever since you left I thought that'd be the last we'd see of you. I'll admit, I got a bit upset realizing you'd never come back. Sure I played some pranks, threw your arms and legs in places you wouldn't be able to reach. But hey, what's some light ribbing between friends, huh?"

He held his arms wide as if he expected a response. Fizz didn't give him one, opting instead to glare at him. The twins were one of the many that messed with him while he was still in the circus, while adults like Boris stood back and watched it happen. And when he'd complain, they wouldn't lift a finger to help him.

Blaze lowered his arms and continued, "Then, after a while, you did come back. Well, not you, but a robot version of you. Turns out you became a fuckin' superstar after you left. Mammon wanted you back in the show, except it wasn't really you, cause you were too busy doin' whatever it was you were doin'. Now, I don't know about my sister and father, but I was impressed. I mean, look at us, have you seen any robot copies of us anywhere?"

It was another rhetorical question that Fizz didn't answer, so Blaze continued rambling. He loved listening to himself talk. "At first it was all good, I mean it was like you but waaaay better, couldn't get enough of the guy. But then… but then…" His voice trailed off, his hands clenched into fists as his brow creased with frustration. His sister continued for him.

"But then he sent more, a lot more. Started replacing some of the other guys in our circus. The ringleader, the entire clown troupe, the acrobats, hell we thought the animals were going to be next at that point."

"Mammon continued to send more of those robots, hoping to cut costs," Boris picked up. "Pretty soon, it was only us left. We had no idea how long until we were on the street next."

Fizzarolli felt a tiny amount of sympathy build up in him, one that he immediately quashed. It was unfortunate that they were going to end up homeless, but considering everything they'd done to him this was music to his ears. He was unknowingly getting rid of all of them, much like how they got rid of him so long ago. Had he known this, he never would have set fire to the place. He didn't say this out loud however, instead thinking of a way to get out of this while they went on their droning monologues.

"Turns out we didn't have to wait long though," Blaze spoke up again, "because in the middle of our act last night the entire roof caught fire. We only had enough time to evacuate everyone, and when we turned around the place was destroyed. We had no idea what happened, we thought some pyrotechnics malfunctioned and went off when no one was looking."

Blaze paused, strolling closer to Fizz. He put his arms up defensively, ready for him to throw another punch. Instead, he stopped right in front of him, and pointed a finger at him. "But then I saw you. You were pretty far in the field but I could tell it was you. Running away right along with your Goetia boyfriend."

Fizz couldn't help it. Now that he was standing in front of him he could see the anger in his eyes, and he had to taunt him for it.

"Damn, we probably would have gotten away quicker if we weren't totally plastered."

He smiled cockily at him, and received a blank stare in return. Blaze bowed his head, shaking it with a snort, placing his hands on his hips. Fizz relaxed a little seeing this, then Blaze shot up and threw a punch into his face. It was too fast for him to block, and when it connected he slammed into the wall behind him and slid down onto the ground. He covered his face, feeling blood start flowing out of his nose.

"We lost everything in that stunt you two pulled!"

Good, now you know how it feels, Fizz thought. Byrd stepped up to her brother's side to calm him down, placing a hand on his shoulder. Boris remained where he was, continuing their tale while Blaze calmed down.

"We searched the remains to see if anything survived. Some equipment did, others were completely ruined. And that's when we found that," he nodded at the cloth they threw at Fizz. "We showed it to Mammon when he came to inspect the damages later. We even told him what we saw. He told us it was nothing. Nothing." He reiterated the word with a hiss, his neck taught as he held in his anger.

"We all knew that was bullshit," Byrd said crassly. She tilted her head mockingly at Fizz, "Seems like Asmodeus has been sucking more cock than just yours."

Fizz didn't take the bait, placing his hands on the ground and laughing with a cough. He spit out some blood and responded, "You say that like I don't know. Asmodeus can do whoever and whatever he pleases. Besides," he paused to pick himself up, leaning against the wall for support.

He remembered what Asmodeus told him last night about the circus, and he relayed that information in his typical fashion. "That place was an eyesore. Who's to say Asmodeus did anything with Mammon? Maybe he did nothing because he wanted it gone just as much as we did."

The three of them looked at each other, not considering that. But they quickly returned their attention to Fizz. Even if what he said was true, and they highly doubted it was, they still felt he needed to pay for what he had done to them. Before any of them could speak up, Fizz continued.

"So you can keep going on and on about how much of an asshole I am, pretend you didn't have it coming. But I really couldn't fucking care less. Hell if you died in that fire, I would have been ecstatic. Just like all you were when you thought I died. To put it simply, all this bullshit you're whining about? It ain't my fucking problem."

No one responded for a moment, as silence cut through the alleyway once more like a knife. But after a brief pause Blaze spoke again. This time in a more threatening tone. "Oh it's going to be your fucking problem."

At that, he unhinged his jaw and reached inside his mouth, with Fizz looking on in disgust. Then he pulled an object out, a sword, with his hand wrapped around the handle and the blade shining slick with saliva. Before Fizz could make a crack at how gross the display was, he saw movement on his right and he quickly turned to face it. Boris had pulled a sledgehammer from somewhere and was holding it in his hands menacingly. When Fizz looked back at the twins, he saw Byrd was now holding small knives in her hands; the kind of knives that were typically used to throw at demons hanging off a giant dartboard. Once more Fizz was on guard, knowing fully their intentions. They had no plans on letting him leave alive.

"I bet you wished your master was here right about now," Blaze said with a smile.

"I don't need Ozzie," Fizz growled, "I can take care of myself just fine!"

Swiftly, he threw out a punch towards the twins after his exclamation. Blaze jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding it, and Byrd bent backwards allowing it to sail over her and slam into the opposite wall. It hit with a loud crunch as brick splintered and broke from the impact, Fizz wasn't going to be pulling his punches either. Right after he attacked, Boris moved in, swinging his hammer from the side threatening to cave in his skull. He retracted his arm and ducked underneath it, and the hammer swung overhead into the wall behind him with a resounding bang.

Now that he was on his knees, he could see Byrd and Blaze making their move next. If they kept up this unrelenting assault he would be forced to play defensive, until they inevitably got a hit in. He needed to thin them out, take care of them one at a time. It would be tricky, but as he looked up at the hammer above him, an idea formed in his head.

He shot both his arms out, wrapping them around the handle of the large hammer a couple times. Now that his grip was tight, he pulled on it as hard as he could. Boris tried his best to hang onto his weapon, but even his famed strength wasn't enough compared to the strength Fizz's enhancements gave him. After a moment of struggle it was torn out of his hands, and as Blaze descended on him with a threatening sword swing, Fizz threw it into him. It flung out of his hands and hit Blaze's chest with a loud crack, a sound that meant he definitely broke one or a couple ribs, and he tumbled backwards onto the ground motionless. That's one down.

Seeing what he did to his son, Boris grew enraged and wrapped strong arms around Fizz's arms, pinning him in place. He tried to struggle out of his grasp, but he had a tight lock on him.

"Byrd! Let's show him the new act you've been practicing," he growled in his ear.

Byrd got over the shock of seeing what happened to her brother quickly at this, and she flashed the knives in her hand. "Of course poppa, just hold him steady."

Fizz knew how this routine usually went, and he also knew the amount of force needed to pierce the board around the poor guy that was strung up. Except now there was no board, and all it would take is one knife thrown in the right spot to kill him. Byrd danced the knives in her hand, giving Fizz time to think of a way to avoid them.

Finally, she flipped one of the knives in her hand over to her other, waiting hand. She caught it by the knife tip and flung it towards him. It came speedily, but as it was flying through the air Fizz had all his limbs go limp, and he dipped to the ground. He felt the knife woosh past him and implant itself in Boris's chest. This was confirmed when he heard him shout and release his grip on him.

"Poppa!" Byrd shouted at her mistake, forgetting about Fizz.

Boris looked down at the knife, planted in the center of his chest, and tried to calm her down. "It's ok, it didn't go too deep-"

"Good to hear," Fizz said, cutting into their conversation.

A robotic arm stretched up and gripped the knife handle. Before Boris could react, he twisted the knife, causing him to grit his teeth in pain, then he ripped it out and flung it back at Byrd. This time she couldn't dodge fast enough, and she took the knife into her shoulder. It deadened the arm carrying the knives, going limp as they clattered to the ground. She reacted appropriately, gripping her shoulder and crying out in pain.

Seeing both his children hurt brought Boris to a level of anger he never knew before, and more than ever he wanted the jester dead. With a roar of rage he reached down to grab Fizz, hoping to strangle him. But Fizz was prepared this time, and he pulled himself underneath Boris through his legs. With the twins down and the father evaded, he could have easily escaped into the road behind him. But now he was focused on hurting them too, fighting instincts overtaking flight.

Once he was behind Boris he jumped onto his back and started to wrap his limbs around him. First he wrapped around his arms with his, pinning them to his body so he couldn't move them. Then, with his legs, he wrapped around Boris's legs, until they too were similarly paralyzed. The strongman grunted, trying to pull against his tight hold, but once more he failed to do so. Fizz pushed his arms to their limit, extending them just enough so his clawed hands could reach up to Boris's throat. He scratched at him menacingly, sending him a clear message what he intended to do, and he stopped resisting.

By this point, Blaze had managed to push himself off the ground, clutching his chest and wheezing. Byrd was standing by his side, the knife removed from her shoulder, and her arm hanging uselessly by her side. They looked at Fizz and their father, seeing the position he had him in, and they stood still. They understood what would happen if they tried to move closer, but Fizz decided to verbally state his intentions.

"Take one step, I dare you. I'll tear his throat out, and you can have fun cleaning that up." He wasn't lying either, his eyes red with rage and bloodlust. If they wanted to kill him, they'd have to go through their father first, and Fizz banked on them not being able to do that.

Instead, as he stared them down, a smile grew on Byrd's face. One that was reflected by Blaze, and they slowly began to laugh. It wasn't the reaction he was expecting, and he became more defensive as they clearly knew something he didn't. One of his clawed fingers cut Boris's neck, just enough to draw blood so they could see.

"You think I'm joking? It ain't hard to do!" He shouted at them, and their laughter began to subside.

"We can see that Fizz," Blaze coughed, his chest hurting from the forced laughter. "We just find it cute you think you have the upper hand."

The comment confused him, so Blaze elaborated, "Do you know how long we've been working with your stupid robots? Here's a hint, too fucking long. Long enough so we would have to do simple repairs on them. Nothing major, but just enough to know how they're built."

The implication of his words weren't lost on Fizz, and he quickly gripped onto Boris's neck, his fingers biting into his skin. But before he could act on his threat, a bloodied knife sailed into his shoulder. Sparks flew, and the hand that was gripping the strongman failed. It unraveled itself away from his neck and off one of his arms, falling to the ground. Fizz was left stunned, and he realized too late that he should've run when he had the chance.

"For instance," Blaze continued his taunt, "most major components for the arms are stored in the circular shoulder attachments."

Boris got the hint and with his freed arm he reached over and behind him towards Fizz's other shoulder. His hand found its target, and it gripped tightly onto the round piece of metal that connected Fizz's arm to his body. He gave a powerful squeeze, and Fizz could feel the metal biting into his body as it was crushed in his grip. Something internally exploded from the pressure, as smoke poured out between his fingers, and Fizz cried out. Both his arms were destroyed, and he fell away from Boris's back.

He hit the ground hard, and he tried to retract his legs so he could attempt another escape. But they were too interwoven with the large man, and as he felt them start to snake away from him he closed his legs together, pinning the metal limbs between them. Fizz tried as hard as he could to force them to retract, but he only got a loud, strained, whirring in return as the gears locked up.

Fizz could only watch as Blaze casually walked up to his side, sword in hand. He made a big show of it, pushing the blade between his fingers, then dramatically pulling it back out, as if he was unsheathing it from an imaginary scabbard. Then, without hesitation, the sword came down fast and cut through both legs simultaneously. Unlike the three he had been fighting he couldn't feel any of this, but pain was clear on his face regardless. It took great effort fending the three of them off and gaining the upper hand, but in mere moments he lost it, and now he was at their mercy.

They had no intention of giving it to him though, as Blaze twirled the sword in his hand with a sigh. "Ah, now this is a familiar sight. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the broken Fizzarolli!" He gestured a hand towards him, "He ain't worth much, but trust us, you can still draw plenty of entertainment out of him."

They had surrounded him now, looking over his crippled body with malicious intent. Fizz looked at each of them in turn, their smiles cruel and twisted. He couldn't defend himself anymore, all he could do now was brace for what came next.

Blaze went first, sending a strong kick into his ribs that took his breath away. He clenched his jaw and grunted, only to have Boris send a kick of his own into his face. He cried out, and Byrd silenced it with a kick into his crotch. As he doubled over himself, they continued their assault in their respective regions of his body. Boris from above, Blaze to the side, and Byrd from underneath. It didn't take long for his skin to bruise, then bleed as they continued their attack. Eventually he didn't feel anything anymore, and when they saw he wasn't crying in pain they stopped and looked down at him.

Fizz was breathing hard, barely clinging to consciousness. Blood flowed down his form from multiple lacerations, bruises covered most of his chest, and one eye was swollen shut. The other eye looked around, waiting for the final blow to be delivered.

Blaze walked away from his sight for a moment, then returned with the sledgehammer he threw away at the beginning of their fight. He handed it over to his father, then addressed Fizz one last time.

"It's been nice catching up Fizz, but we're going to wrap up now. Gotta go out and find new work. It's a shame beating you doesn't give us any money, we could make a good living out of it." He smirked haughtily while Fizz weakly looked back, barely keeping his one functioning eye open.

"Although I am curious, with all the fun replacements you've received, if they will be able to replace your head next," Blaze nodded over to Boris, and he raised his sledgehammer.

This was it. With his weapon raised like an executioner's axe, Fizz closed his eye and waited for the end to come. But it never did. Instead, he heard the hammer fall to the ground next to his head, followed by the scared, hushed curses of Blaze and Byrd. Curious, he opened his eye, and he saw Boris had disappeared. His form was replaced by Asmodeus's great hand, clutched tight into a fist. He assumed correctly that the strongman was being held in said fist. They were so distracted with torturing him they failed to notice Asmodeus come up on them. Although he didn't know how he found him, Fizz was thankful he was here, if only because it meant he wouldn't die just yet.

With considerable effort, he tilted his head back so he could see the Goetia. When he got a good look at his face, he saw it had undergone a noticeable change. The blue mane that surrounded his head was tinged around the edges with a dark red; the heads that floated in it reflected this color change and were looking at the demon in their hold with angry, vengeful eyes. Asmodeus's expression also held this rage, his typical green eyes and mouth were now blood red, and he snarled darkly at Boris.

"I'm curious too," he growled, "let's see if we can."

His mouth opened wide at his threatening statement, then it clasped down around Boris's head. The twins gave a horrifying scream at the display, crying out for their father. His muffled screams could be heard coming out of his mouth, but they quickly ceased with a sickening crunch as Asmodeus bit through his neck. Blood poured out of his mouth and along his fingers, dripping down onto Fizz. He pulled his head away and threw his headless body back behind him. With a grimace, he spat the head out of his mouth. It bounced on the ground a couple times, rolling and coming to a stop at the twins' feet. They gave it a quick glance, then looked back up at the enraged Goetia, tears staining their face and holding onto each other fearing what would happen to them.

Asmodeus eyed both of them, and said, "Start running."

He didn't have to tell them twice, as they gave each other a brief look, then started to run down the alleyway. Unbeknownst to them, Asmodeus wasn't going to let them live. He simply wanted to make sure Fizz was okay first.

"Baby, can you hear me? Are you ok?" He reached down with a gentle hand and stroked Fizz's body, feeling the wounds that covered him. This helped fuel his anger, and Fizz could see it as his expression darkened.

He coughed a little, then responded with a small smile, "I've been worse Ozzie. Did anyone ever… ever tell you you're sexy when you're mad?"

Asmodeus didn't see the humor in his joke, continuing to retain his grave demeanor. "I'll be back in a moment Fizzy, just hang on."

He leaned down and planted a sweet kiss on his forehead; a much-needed touch after the brutality that was inflicted on his person. Then Asmodeus's head shot up, and he sprinted past Fizz in the direction the twins were trying to escape. In a couple seconds, he could hear their pleading cries as they begged for forgiveness. It was followed by the sound of their screams, and the tearing of flesh.

Fizz relaxed on the ground, staring up into the deep blue sky, enjoying the sounds of their agony. It was the last thing he heard before the darkness swallowed him whole, and he gave into unconsciousness.